Love Alia!
by MEGAMANX411
Summary: [COMPLETE] X, Zero, Axl, Alia, Layer, and Pallette get some time off! What craziness ensues on their vacation time? Rated T for some language, fanservice. Inspired by the animemanga Love Hina. Under revision!
1. Vacation

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 1  
_"Vacation!"_  
By MEGAMANX411

Disclaimer: This story is pretty much Mega Man X with influences from the series Love Hina. It won't use anything directly from that series, but it will be similar in terms of style. Neither Mega Man X nor Lova Hina are of my possession no matter how much I would like to believe otherwise. Some scenes will be similar due to the nature of Love Hina, and if you dislike fanfics of that sort, please stop reading now. I admit that this isn't an entirely original idea, just something I wanted to do after playing Mega Man X games and watching Love Hina.

It was summertime, and reploids and humans alike everywhere were having a great time in the sunshine. However, things were a bit different at Maverick Hunter HQ. X, the quintessential ultra-shy intellectual, was spending his time reading and assisting Alia with inputting various information codes into the Maverick Hunter HQ database with the data collected on previous reploids. Of course, doing so was quite stressful, so that called for lots and lots of caffeine.

Alia and X were both jumpy and wired. Their faces were pasty and pale from many endless nights, and they both seemed like they could collapse at any second. Their fingers were worked to the proverbial bone from doing so much. Signas just walked by to see them working.

"Oh, hello X, hello Alia!" he shouted, waving politely.

"W-wha? Who's there? Signas! W-we're w-working hard! Almost done, almost done!" X shouted, almost twitching.

"Maybe you should take a break-"

"Break? No, no breaks, we've been working non-stop!" Alia interrupted.

Signas' face showed signs of concern as he eyed Alia and X. He didn't believe that working so hard was really healthy.

"Um, Alia, X, maybe you should take a breather..." Signas muttered.

X and Alia didn't even pay attention to what Signas had to say. They just worked away without paying attention to anything else, slamming coffees in unison.

"I'll just...be going now," Signas added, walking away.

Signas then came to Zero and Axl, who were in the training room. They were both drenched in sweat as they pounded away on their opponents, using any nearby thing as a possible weapon. Of course, they employed their usual reckless attitudes in their fighting, so almost anyting in the room was decimated. Signas took notice, and took cover obviously.

"Zero! Axl! How long have you been in here?" Signas shouted, making sure not to be hit by anything that might fly by.

"About 3 days!" Zero shouted, hammering away at a training dummy.

Pieces of the dummy went flying across the room, and Zero pretty much destroyed any training equipment that was in his possession. The crimson hunter was having too much fun to realize that he had been up three days straight training. Axl was in a similar boat, and Signas really wanted to make sure that no stray bullets would hit him.

"Axl, have you been here with Zero all this time?" Signas asked.

"Yes sir!" Axl shouted.

Signas then left that room, rubbing the back of his head in mild embarassment. He was starting to get the feeling that his associates were wound REALLY tight. Signas decided to held elsewhere...he was bound to find at least one person who wasn't on the verge of insanity. At least that's what he assumed.

Signas them came across Layer and Pallette, who were both busying updating the new navigation system. They were both frazzled, and their eyes obviously conveyed the sense that they had to stay awake without the luxury of caffeine.

"Um...Pallette, Layer, are you two alright?" Signas asked.

"That's ok, we don't own a cat..." Pallette replied, half-asleep.

Layer was even more out of it, struggling futilely to stay awake. She lazily typed away on the keyboard, but what she put in was mere gibberish. She couldn't even keep her head up. Signas shook his head in response, and decided to take a stand. His associates, whether they admitted it or not, NEEDED some time off, and badly.

Signas rushed off to his command room and turned on the intercom system. He made sure to turn it to the maximum volume so everyone would hear it no matter who asleep they were.

"ATTENTION ALL SENIOR MAVERICK HUNTER STAFF! FROM THIS POINT ONWARD, YOU ARE NOW ALL ON FORCED VACATION! YOU ARE TO LEAVE THE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY!" Signas shouted.

Signas then leaned back in his chair, waiting for the praise to come back to him. He could picture his team leaving, them coming back refreshed, ready to go. Instead, he saw an angry mob just outside his door.

"What do you mean vacation! I haven't finished training!" Zero screamed.

"I can't leave now, I have so much work to do!" Alia added.

"Signas, think about how much productivity we'll lose!" X shouted.

"How can you do this to us?" Pallette sobbed.

"Alright, all of you...OUT!" Signas shouted, pushing them all out the door. "You're on vacation!"


	2. Checking In?

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 2  
_"Checking In?"_  
By MEGAMANX411

X and company just stood outside of Maverick Hunter HQ, looking entirely dumbfounded. Like that, they were all shoved outside and were now supposed to be on vacation. In X's hands was a brochure that Signas gave to him that showed a picture of a resort hotel. X began reading the footnotes on the brochure and narrowed his eyes to get a better look. The hours of staying awake with the help of coffee didn't help his eyes.

"Well...it looks like Signas booked us for about two months," X muttered, shaking his head.

"Two months? How am I supposed to just stop working and resume after two months?" Alia shouted.

X thenopened up the brochure to see that train tickets were in it. Signas got them tickets to get the resort as well. He must've really wanted them gone. X rubbed his eyes to try and remove some of the fatigue, and then pulled out the tickets. The entire group, groggy from lack of sleep, trudged like zombies to the train station. When they arrived, the conductor had to call them approximately 200 times or so before the message finally clicked.

"Hey, there's the train!" Axl shouted.

"Wow, score 2 points for Captain Obvious," Zero mocked. "The guy's been trying to tell us for about an hour."

"Then how come you didn't tell us to get on?" Pallette asked.

"Because I was having fun," Zero replied.

The group gave the blonde hunter a low stare then boarded the train. Everyone took their seats and relaxed in the comfortable chairs, wasting no time in getting situated. Of course, Zero, with the lack of ability to swing his sword around while the train, had to resort to having fun by other means. Namely, taunting and torturing his friends, a priceless way to pass the time.

The blonde hunter took the time to fling any nearby object at people walking by, then giggling afterward, giving many the opinion that he was still in grade school. Axl, being the impressionable one joined in. Zero then leaned over and whispered to Axl.

"Now listen, my young apprentice. To be recognized as an adult...you must commit a super prank," Zero whispered, looking side to side.

"I'm listening..." Axl replied.

"You must do something so hilarious that everyone must commend your prank skills. This resort will be the perfect opportunity," Zero added.

"I will do my best, master," Axl answered, nodding.

Zero and Axl both had a sadistic glee in their eyes as they looked at X, who would be easy prey for their pranks. He was smart, but naive...the perfect combination of traits. Making him look like an idiot in front of Alia would be a great prank. They just needed to figure out the how and the when.

During the trip, X just read a book and sat next to Alia who was doing the same. They occasionally looked over at one another, but they both assumed it was to make sure no one did anything funny. Besides, they had to constantly worry about what the red hunter would do. X and Alia would sometimes take the time to look back where Zero was sitting to make sure that he didn't fling any random objects at them.

As the train came to a stop, X and company looked outside to see the resort. It looked like a huge mansion, although a somewhat aged one. There was a sign out in front reading welcome, and apparently, another sign also showed that Signas had indeed rented out the entire resort for the crew to relax in. X got his bags off the train slowly.

"Here X, take these for me," Alia muttered, tossing her bags on top of X.

The blue hunter quickly caught the extra bags. Luckily for him, his reploid strength made it a bit easier, but still, it was hard to haul all that around. Unfortunately, the others had ideas similar to Alia.

"Here X, hope you don't mind," Layer added, adding her stuff.

"Thank you X!" Pallette shouted, tossing her stuff on top of X.

X struggled under all of the luggage that he was virtually buried under. One false step and it would all come crashing down. He then looked onward in terror to see that to get the resort, he would have to scale a lot of stairs.

"Whew...ok...gotta be careful..." X whispered, slowly walking up.

As X finally reached the last step, he let out a sigh of relief. He then opened his eyes to see Zero standing in front of him. That's when it hit X.

"Zero, no, don't!" X shouted.

Zero just smirked and then simply pushed X back with a single finger. The blue bomber went crashing down the stairs with all of the bags falling down on him like an avalanche. The red hunter couldn't help but roll on the floor, lauhing his metallic backside off. Alia, Layer, and Pallette then walked by and looked around for their luggage.

"Where's X?" Alia asked.

"He seems to be such a lazy one," Layer muttered, shaking her head.

"Aw, I shouldn't have thanked him after all!" Pallette added, crossing her arms.

Meanwhile, X was trying to get all of the clothes back into the proper bags. As he did so, he noticed a lot of undergarments lying about him. That was definitley a big mistake. He looked up to see three furious females running at him with full speed. He frantically waved his arms and tried to explain.

"X, you pervert!" Alia screamed, punching the blue hunter in the face with her all might.

"That is unforgivable!" Layer added, raising her sword high.

"X, you meanie!" Pallette shouted, pulling out her pistols.

X took the barrage of hits and then fell over dazed amidst the sea of clothes. The girls gave X hostile stares and then walked back up the stairs, expecting him to carry the bags all over again. X then gathered all of the things around him and started walking back up. All of the luggage was a great burden, but hey, he still had his pride. This time, Zero would not get the best of him. When he finally reached the top, X found out that the others had already taken the time to pick out their rooms.

X walked into the resort. The building was all wood, although it had some elaborate designs on it. It was very well crafted and it was obvious that it was a nice place. The receptionist was gone, probably because either Signas told her to take a hike when he rented the place out or Zero managed to scare her away already. Everyone had already chosen their rooms, so that left X with the crummy, decrepit room with a hole in the ceiling.

"Great. Thanks a load guys," X muttered, shaking his head.

As X unpacked his things in his room, he thought he heard noises coming from the hole in his ceiling. There had to be something there. X slowly walked under it and tried to look up to see if he could notice anything. He then reached up and tried to climb up to see if there was anything to investigate. When he climbed up, he saw that the hole actually led him into the room directly above.

He looked around to see Alia changing right in front of him. The normally blue hunter turned deep red and he started to have a nosebleed. Alia heard some noise behind her and then turned around to see X in the act.

"X, you haven't learned your lesson, have you?" Alia screamed, kicking X in the face.

X fell down through the hole and hit the ground hard. He looked up lazily at Alia's room and wondered just how this vacation was supposed to make him feel better. Meanwhile, Layer had taken the time to decorate her room with many swords to practice with. Everything was very neat and organized. Pallette's room was decorated with posters of various boy bands, and could have stood to be neater.

Zero's room was filled with the bare essentials: magazines, booze, his weapons, video games, etc. He was ready to have some fun. Of course, a lot of that would come from finding ways to make this trip more interesting. Axl's room was covered in posters of bands, but it was pretty sloppy...a typical teenager's room. Alia's was neat and organized, and it had her computer, her books, and so on. X's room was pretty much the same, just outfitted for his tastes.

Everyone then met in the main room to decide who would take care of cleaning the place. The procedure was simple: rock, paper, scissors. X smiled with glee, he somehow had a great knack for this game. He thought he had it made. First, X went up against Alia. He would feel bad for putting her to work, so he decided that maybe he should try and purposely lose. X lost that round, then was up against Zero.

X knew what hell he would go through if Zero had to clean. He wouldn't have a single decent night's sleep, let alone one peaceful day. He threw that game too. Then he was up against Pallette. She gave X her pleading eyes, and the blue hunter was too sympathetic to beat her. Another game lost. X then went up against Layer. Again, he felt bad about making her do work, so he threw the game. That meant he was up against Axl last.

X's sympathetic nature made him throw that game too...meaning he had to do all of the cooking and cleaning while they were there. Zero slapped a maid's outfit on him, and X sadly let out a sigh as he assumed his duties while on his supposed vacation.

"Phase one is complete...now to get to the real stuff," Zero whispered, excitedly working on his plan.


	3. Game On!

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 3  
_"Game On!"_  
By MEGAMANX411

X sulked around the resort with his cleaning supplies, muttering about how unfair this trip was turning out to be. At least when he was back at Maverick Hunter HQ, he would get something in return for his work. Now he was just being worked hard because Zero liked to tease him, and he knew it. Of course, Zero's apprentice Axl also joined in the pranks, which didn't help X any. His only salvation, he thought, would come of the rationale of the three female navigators, but they often times didn't help him because of the circumstances.

X recalled that the very first day they were there, Zero ordered X to clean the spa out back. There was an outdoor hotspring at this resort, which made it all the more luxurious. Zero's proposition was somewhat noble, at first anyway. He told X that he should clean the area before the girls took the opportunity to bathe there. It would make things nice for them, thus making X look better.

Sadly, Zero forgot to mention to the blue bomber that the girls were already in the spa. So when X walked in, he quickly changed from blue to red. X started to feel a little faint after seeing all three navigators dressed in mere towels, ready to submerse themselves in the hot springs. Of course, X didn't get a chance to relax, because as soon as he realized what he was looking at, he realized how much trouble he was in. If Layer and Pallette didn't hold Alia back, she would've made sure X would be eating through a straw from now on.

Of course, Zero was laughing his ass off at the event. Axl joined in, but they both dared not to go to the hot springs. The ladies would've had a bone to pick with them too if they tried anything funny...but of course, Zero was having fun in other ways. X recalled that just after that event, Zero was having a lot of fun during the dinner time too. X took a lot of time to make food for everyone, and it was really good...but no one really took the time to thank him, because the three girls thought X was a total pervert, and Zero and Axl were too busy having fun with a food war (an escalated form a food fight, obviously). That of course, meant X had to clean things up afterward.

And right after that, during the sleeping hours...there was a slight misunderstanding. Although X didn't see Zero do it, he was positive that the crimson hunter shoved Alia out of her bed so she would fall down that hole and land on X. Because when X woke up in the morning, he saw Alia laying right on top of him. And when she woke up, she was downright furious.

"Oh...man..." X muttered, rubbing his sore face. "Alia really let me have it."

The crimson hunter eyed X with malicious intent in his eyes. X was the main source of fun right now, and Zero knew he could make his life hell for a bit...in return for some cheap laughs to pass the time while he was away. After all, he couldn't fight, so there was nothing else left for him to do. But Zero had a better plan now. He knew a way he could make X's life hell and end up helping him in the end at the same time. It seemed ludicrous, but this idea was getting him psyched.

Zero quickly hurried over to Axl's room to talk to him. He also got Pallette over...after all, she was curious, and Zero saw no harm in letter her join in the fun at this point. Zero huddled around the two smaller reploids and whispered to them.

"Alright, here's the plan...we got to set up an event where X can be with Alia," Zero whispered.

"What for?" Axl asked.

"I've seen him eye her quite a bit back at HQ...so I'm going with a hunch on this one. And if it doesn't work out, so what? We can get some kicks out of seeing X make a joke out of himself. Besides, he's way too shy, this will be good for him. Trust me," Zero answered, flashing a typical arrogant smile.

"But where and when?" Pallette asked.

"Just leave that to me. Make sure X and Alia don't find out this information," Zero replied.

Zero, Axl, and Pallette looked over to see X cleaning, and they all smiled maliciously at one another. It seemed that it was time to make this trip even more interesting. Zero then got the idea...why stop wtih X? He could backstab his cohorts on this matter to make things even more interesting. But what to do with Axl, Pallette and Layer? He didn't know who to set Axl up with yet, so he'd have to experiment. All he knew is that this trip was going to get more intersting. He had to find some way to turn this into a gamble.

Zero turned his back to the others, got his communicator out, and called Maverick Hunter HQ. While the others weren't watching, Zero set up a whole ring of gamblers on this. Who would get set up with whom? It would be turned into one of the largest gambing rings at Maverick Hunter HQ...with Zero reaping the benefits of course. And it turned out that even Signas was getting in on things, along with the other staff members.

Zero not only set up the bets, but he also started his own challenges. He would set the candidates up with a selected partner, then try to get that to work out for the sake of the bet. And up first was X and Alia. Zero's idea was to get them tickets to a carnival...of course, he would be there at every turn to speed things along (usually to X's dismay). Zero disguised the tickets by putting them in an envelope that claimed to be from Signas. The tickets were addressed to be for X and Alia, and Zero made sure that they both wouldn't want to stay at the resort during the day.

X was looking for any opportunity to escape, so he was set. As for Alia, Zero made sure that the hot springs were closed, her computer systematically crashed, and virtually any other thing she was working on was found to be destroyed. Alia slowly approached Zero and took the ticket.

"Well...thank you Zero. But I am the only one going?" Alia asked.

"Actually, X here is going too!" Zero shouted, patting the blue bomber on the back.

X slowly walked forward and tried to look at Alia in the eye, but was having a hard time doing so. He wasn't particularly skilled in dealings of this sort, so he tried to hide his face from the seemingly predestined embarassment that would befall him. He didn't know that only he and Alia were the ones going on this trip...but at least it was still a chance to get out and not belike a slave for a little bit.

"So...um, Alia, what do you say?" X asked, forcing a meek smile.

"Well...I have nothing better to do. I suppose it can help pass the time," Alia replied, walking past X and toward the door.

X followed after, but of course, Zero wasn't far behind. He was going to make sure this was a trip X wouldn't soon forget.


	4. The Carnival and Alia's Idea

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 4  
_"The Carnival and Alia's Idea"  
_By MEGAMANX411

X walked slowly beside Alia, hiding his face from her as he moved. It seemed as though he was trying extra hard not to be seen by her, probably out of fear of embarrassment or being smacked. He rubbed his arm nervously, and began looking at the ground kind of sadly. He admitted he wasn't good at these kind of situations, even though he was poetic by nature. X loved to read and write, and he was an artistic person, but he trouble expressing himself at times. Namely in front of the fairer sex, and although Alia had been around for awhile, X still had some trouble getting accustomed to things.

He had gotten to work well with her during missions, but when it came to time off work, that was a different issue. So he decided that his best course of action was to just be polite and refrain from doing anything that might get in him trouble. Alia was also at a bit of a loss when it came to this sort of thing, but she didn't want X to see that obviously. So they both walked side by side to this carnival. Alia decided to break the ice though, the silence was starting to become a burden.

"X, don't you think that Zero's taunting of you as gotten a bit extreme?" Alia asked.

"Yeah...I don't really like confrontations though..." X replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"You should at least stand up for yourself. You shouldn't take that from them," Alia answered.

"What can I do though?" X asked.

"Have you ever thought of getting back at Zero for all of the times he's insulted you?" Alia asked.

"Well...yeah, I guess I've thought about it, my pranks don't usually work out that well, heh..." X replied.

Alia was then struck by inspiration. This day out to the carnival could be better than she originally thought. Zero had raised several levels of Hell with his various pranks, but this time, things could be different. If Alia and X worked together, they might be able to get back at the crimson hunter and finally fight back. This time around, things could be different.

"Hey X, I think I have an idea how we can put a stop to Zero's nonsense," Alia replied.

"I don't know about this Alia..." X muttered, clearly remembering what had happened to him already. "And if it means anything, I'm really sorry about what happened earlier..."

Alia saw X's apology as a sign he could be rational, which was definitely a good thing for her. It was hard enough to get work done with Zero and Axl around, so at least not having to worry about X goofing off was a bit of a plus.

"Apology accepted X. Just think about the idea," Alia replied.

After awhile, X and Alia noticed that they spent quite a bit of time just walking around the fair, not actually riding any rides or anything. X forced a meek little laugh, and then offered to get Alia some cotton candy from a nearby vendor. She agreed, so the blue hunter hurried over. Zero was waiting in the bushes nearby to see how things were progressing. He was inwardly cursing at X's complete lack of initiative...all this time, and he hadn't taken a single move!

That's when it hit him. If he were going to speed things along, he wanted to make sure of something. Namely, how Alia would respond if X were to suddenly become...close. Zero waited for the perfect moment, and aimed a rock at the back of X's head. He quickly hurled the stone which smacked X in the back of the head, sending him forward into Alia. Alia caught X in a quick embrace, and they both blushed and backed away quickly.

X rubbed the back of his head and repeatedly said he was sorry, and Alia said she forgave him and tried to just get over the situation. Zero cursed when he saw that they both didn't make anything out of the moment, but this still left some hope. If Alia didn't get mad, that might mean something...and Zero would find out if his assumption is correct or not. He decided to trail them for the rest of the day.

"Hey X, want to ride on this?" Alia asked, pointing to a roller coaster.

X's face faulted as he looked at the enormous roller coaster, with all of its loops and corkscrews. It was definitely a behemoth of a ride, one that would send any lesser riders to their imminent demise. A sweat drop trailed down X's face as he looked at the ride. Still though, if Alia wanted to ride, he didn't want to refuse.

"Um...well, ok, if you want to go on it," X muttered, forcing himself to walk towards the ride.

"I like to go on this one myself, it's exhilarating. Have you ever been on it?" Alia asked.

X didn't want to appear like a complete wuss in front of Alia by telling her that he never really went on roller coasters, but he thought it would probably be better just not to lie about it. In the end, it would do him more harm than good. He was trying to decide how to put it into words the best way, but he couldn't quite formulate the sentence he desired.

"So have you been on it or not?" Alia repeated.

"Um...well no, not yet anyway. I was planning on riding it sometime," X replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Heh, I guess you don't ride too many roller coasters X?" Alia teased, seeing through X's faked masculinity.

"You caught me," X responded, smirking.

Zero was nearby of course, eagerly watching how things would turn out. He had a lot of money riding on this experiment, and this was turning out to be quite an investment for him. And if his hunches were right, and if he played his cards right, he might be able to exploit this relationship between X and Alia for some quick cash.

X and Alia slowly got onto the roller coaster, Alia being far more calm about the situation than X of course. The blue bomber nervously looked down to the ground, seeing how high up he was. He nervously gritted his teeth and tried his best to remain calm while in Alia's presence. He took a deep breath in, closed his eyes, and then exhaled. But he was more calmed when he felt Alia take his hand in her own. X looked over at Alia to see her smile casually.

"Relax X, there's no need to be so nervous," Alia whispered, comforting X.

X's face turned red and he looked away from Alia. Needless to say, he was a little embarrassed. He just kept smiling in an embarrassed manner, and tried not to squirm in his seat too much. This wasn't gonna be so bad, it was only a ride. It couldn't really hurt him, and besides, he figured that if Alia could handle it, he could as well. At least, he figured as much.

The ride then came to life, and the roller coaster cars started to ascend higher and higher. It didn't seem all that bad. All they were doing was going up. Of course, X failed to realize that eventually, the ride would _rapidly_ descend.

"This doesn't seem so..." X began.

However, X's words were cut short when he saw that the ride was about to go down. The distance was so ridiculously enormous that X's eyes shot open with shock. The descent was so great it defied almost all reason.

"Here we go..." Alia whispered, smiling.

X tried to remain calm despite what was going to happen, for appearances' sake in front of Alia. He forced a smile again, but it was more obvious this time around. His eyes were still wide from shock, and his smile was clearly fake.

"Y-yeah...t-this looks like f-fun..." X muttered, trying to remain calm.

X let out a scream as they went flying down the tracks, and he felt as though the helmet was going to be ripped off his head as he was hurdling downward at breakneck speed. The roller coaster then suddenly stopped, sending X slamming into the brace that held him down. The ride then went into reverse and flew backwards across the track at an even faster pace. When the ride was finally over, X looked almost catatonic. It wasn't until Alia got off the ride that X finally seemed to come back to life.

"So, have fun?" Alia asked.

"Y-yeah..." X muttered, stumbling around for a bit.

"So, what else do you want to do? We have the whole day to spend here," Alia replied, smiling at X.

X thought to himself how much he enjoyed seeing Alia smile, that definitely made him feel better despite all of the problems he had encountered on this trip so far. And getting out to spend a day with her was just what he needed, or so he believed to be the case. Usually he considered his relationship with Alia to be strictly professional, but doing something just for the fun of it did prove to be just that, fun. He spent the rest of the day with her, enjoying the rides, getting candy and snacks, and just socializing. It was really enjoyable, and at the end of the day, he was really glad that he went with her.

Near the end of the day, when Alia and X were walking back home, Zero trailed them to record the outcome of what had happened during the day. His experiment seemed to be turning out as he planned so far, but he wasn't planning on what Alia was talking to X about.

"So, you still want to try and get back at Zero?" Alia asked, acting somewhat devious.

"You're still thinking about that?" X replied, sounding surprised.

"Well, he did put you through a lot. Maybe it's time you stand up for yourself," Alia answered.

"I suppose you're right...anyway, I'll sleep on it. Deal?" X asked.

"Deal. Hey X?" Alia relied.

"Yeah, what is it?" X asked.

"I had a good time with you today, it was fun," Alia whispered, smiling.

"Yeah, I had fun too. Maybe we should do this again sometime," X answered, smiling back.

By the time X and Alia had finished their conversation, they reached their destination. They stopped for a few moments, looked at each other, and endured a somewhat awkward silence. They both kind of smirked despite the mild embarrassment, said goodnight, and went to their separate rooms.

"The results are lookin' good for this experiment. Now onto experiment 2!"


	5. Unexpected Guests

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 5  
_"Unexpected Guests!"_  
By MEGAMANX411

Slowly, a long, black car pulled up to the resort. The door swung open, and for a moment, nothing emerged. The car then shook back and forth a little bit as figures struggled to get out of it. They all seemed to try to leave at once and got stuck in the door. So after some time was spent trying to organize who would exit the car first, the three figures were revealed in the sunlight. One was tall and lanky, and his face drooped with a kind of mock sadness. At his side was an energy sword.

The next was shorter than the first, but his girth more than made up for it. His body was incredibly stout and powerful, and his massive arms seemed almost ridiculous in comparison to his short, stubby legs. The third was even shorter, and almost everything about his stature was tiny. His tiny arms and legs were accentuated by a small body which hid underneath a black cloak. The three figures looked at each other for a moment in silence. They then looked back at a pile of bags before looking back at one another.

"So...Agile," said the tiny figure to the tallest one, "how about getting the bags?"

"Why doesn't Violen do it, Serges?"Agile replied, motioning to the buff figure.

"I say you do it Agile!" Violen answered, waving his arms.

"Shut your mouth you!" Agile replied, smacking him across the face.

Violen made a face in reply and got up to Agile's face.

"Oh yeah?" Violen answered.

"Yeah!" Agile shot back, slapping him again.

"Oh that's it!" Serges shouted, hitting both Violen and Agile.

The three figures stared at each other hostilely for a minute, their eyes flashing with rage. It was clear they were all agitated and would more than gladly beat the everloving crap out of the first thing they saw. They were...the X-Hunters. At least that's what it seemed like, but X defeated them a long time ago. What were they doing back now? Well, unfortunately for X, he was unaware of the new guests coming, mainly because he was dealing with his own torment. And that was cleaning the house.

Zero was running him ragged, making sure each task X did was more miserable and amusing (to Zero, at least) than the previous one. Many times he recorded it with a camera, or he had Axl go ahead and set up some kind of elaborate trap for X to get tangled up in. X was still pondering on that idea Alia had, and it seemed to get better and better with each passing moment. Little did he now that someone beside Zero had a little plan for X as well. The three X-Hunters approached the house and they came to their employer.

"OK, so you just want us to go attack X?" Violen asked.

Agile smacked Violen upside the head and immediately cut him off.

"Of course that's it you dolt! Why else do you think we were hired?" Agile snapped.

"Oh, a wise guy eh?" Violen replied.

"That's enough from both of you!" Serges shouted, smacking both of his accomplices.

Serges then turned back to his employer and bowed.

"Please forgive them for that. So, you just want us to go and attack X? What about Zero?" Serges asked.

"I'll take care of that. The fight will just be you against X and another person," the figure replied.

"Who? Who else are we supposed to fight?" Violen asked.

"It doesn't matter if I would tell you, you don't know who she is anyway. I'll take care of it, you just do your job. When the time comes, I'll signal you," the figure replied, walking away.

As the figure walked away, the three X-Hunters looked at each other, visibly confused. They all shrugged their shoulders in unison, but decided to trust in their employer for the moment. Besides, they got to fight X, so that was an added plus. Meanwhile, back in the house, X was laying on the couch. He was completely wiped out from working all day, while Zero and Axl were playing video games.

"B! Press the B button!" Zero shouted, trying to grab the controller from Axl.

"I'm trying, I'm trying! Dr. Wily is really hard! And how come Mega Man is so slow?" Axl replied.

Suddenly, Pallete came into the room with her usual cheery mood and bright smile. She noticed X laying down on the couch and decided to avoid him, and walked over to Axl and Zero. She bent down beside them and presented some tickets.

"Hey...are those...?" Zero asked, his eyes going wide.

"Yup, tickets to a Green Day concert. You want to go? I had these extra tickets laying around, and I didn't want to go. How about you take Layer with you too?" Pallette asked.

"Sure, alright," Zero replied, nodding his head.

Zero quickly ran over and asked Layer if she wanted to go with him. She fell completely silent for a moment, but thankfully managed to give Zero a confirmation through a simple nod of her head. She blushed a bit, but she lowered her face to hide it. Of course, Zero didn't really notice (or care), and grabbed her by the arm as he ran out the door. Axl then gave Pallette a funny look. After all, she presented Zero and Layer with a nice gift, and he was wondering where his was.

"Don't I get anything?" Axl asked.

"Axl, you'll hurt my feelings! Don't think I forgot about you!" Pallette replied, smiling.

Pallette then presented Axl with a movie ticket. She smiled slyly as she saw Axl's eyes light up brightly.

"How does tickets to seethe Mega Man X movie sound?" Pallette asked.

(Author's Note: Come on, Mega Man X and company are popular...you think they'd at least have one movie by the year 21XX, right?)

"Aww man...I've been wanting to see that for a LOOONG time, but it's been sold out! And I want to see who plays me!" Axl asked.

Axl greedily snatched up the ticket and bolted out the door. Pallette then turned back to see X still sleeping on the couch. She smiled at him, and then looked over to the stairs to see Alia walking by.

"Hi Pallette. Where'd everyone else go?" Alia asked.

"They just went out. I think I'll go for a walk myself," Pallette replied, stretching as she walked out the door.

"Huh...guess it's just me and X here then," Alia observed.

Alia looked over to see X sound asleep. Zero had been running him ragged, so it was about time X caught a break. Alia decided just to let him take a nap, while she fixed herself something to drink. She really didn't have any plans for the day, so she thought she might just relax at the resort while everyone else was gone. It might give her a chance to have some peace and quiet, at the very least. Or that's what she hoped at least. Meanwhile, outside...

"There it is! The signal!" Agile shouted.

"Time to get to work boys!" Serges added, visibly pleased.

* * *

What does this mean for X? And what about Alia! She's the only other person home...is this what the X-Hunters' employer intended? Find out next time in Love Alia, chapter 6! 


	6. Wait A Minute!

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 6  
_"Wait A Minute!"_  
By MEGAMANX411

As X was napping on the couch, Alia took some time to enjoy a nice coffee break. After all, it wasn't often that she got to enjoy some nice, relaxing moments to herself. That was something she wanted above all else. Peace and quiet were two things in which her life was greatly lacking. But with X around, she didn't really have to worry. He was generally kind and considerate, and rarely raised his voice or made a scene. Alia smiled warmly at the thought, and then wondered just how in the heck Pallette managed to get everyone out of the house.

Alia then looked over on the desk to see some files from work. At her navigation job, Alia was the original navigator, and thus had access to all files in the Maverick Hunter database. When she joined the Maverick Hunter organization, there had already been some Maverick incidents, so she still had to file them and report them...that included many Mavericks such as Vile and the X-Hunters. The X-Hunters were a trio of Mavericks bent on the destruction of X, and they were tough...at least, based on the reports filed at Maverick Hunter HQ.

Technically speaking, X was the only one to have actually met the X-Hunters face to face. Zero wasn't exactly "all there" so to speak, so he hadn't really met them personally. Even so, the record of X facing them was filed in the base. Many times to get a more comprehensive record of battle data and to investigate the Maverick phenomenon, files would also include the audio and visual data of the hunter who took down the Maverick. In this case, some of X's data was inputted into the Maverick Hunter HQ database.

(Author's Note: I am well aware that X was the only one to have fought the X-Hunters in Mega Man X2, but you think they would have files of his encounter at Maverick Hunter HQ).

"I wonder why these are here?" Alia whispered.

All of the sudden, a loud explosion rocked the resort house. X was flung from his couch and slammed into the wall. His body then lazily rolled onto the floor, and he groggily picked himself back up. He rubbed his head and winced his eyes as he tried to grasp the situation at hand. It's not every day that an explosion rocks you out of bed.

"I'll be up in a minute mom...just give me five more minutes..." X muttered, trying to fall back asleep.

Alia rolled her eyes in annoyance and gave X an unamused stare.

"X! This is no time to go back to sleep!" Alia shouted.

X's eyes immediately shot open and his body jerked back awake. He rubbed his eyes to remove any fatigue from his system, and then started to focus on what was going on. Three figures slowly entered the room, but it took a moment for X to recognize who they were. He winced his eyes again and focused to realize that these three who stood before him were actually the X-Hunters. Or at least, they had the resemblance of them. He had no idea if he was merely dreaming or if they were actually brought back somehow.

"Whatis going on...?" X whispered, still confused.

"Grab the girl!"Serges shouted, pointing over to Alia.

The other two X-Hunters didn't budge an inch.Serges then looked at both Violen and Agile with an annoyed an expression. He waited another moment. Violen then looked got a confused look on his face and looked back at Serges. Agile did the same.

"Uh...which one of us?" Violen asked.

"That doesn't matter you idiot! To make things more clear...ONE of you, get the girl who is standing right over there sipping coffee! How much easier can I make it for you? Do I have to spell it out? Or perhaps even that's too difficult!" Serges screamed, obviously at wit's end.

X then stood in front of Alia and spread his arms out. He didn't exactly comprehend the depth of the situation, but he did understand that he wouldn't allow for one of his friends to be in danger.

"Now hold on. I don't know what you're doing here...but I've beaten you before, and I'll do it again if I have to. Just what to you want with Alia?" X asked.

Violen and Agile shrugged their shoulders. They clearly had no idea. They looked back at Serges for an answer.

"Um...I don't know. You have any idea, Serges?" Agile asked.

"Because we were told to, you idiot! Now get to it!" Serges shouted, pointing back to Alia.

"Right, right, we're on it. Take a chill pill old man!" Agile snapped back.

"What was that?" Serges shouted, walking up behind Agile and smacking him upside the head.

Before X could even do anything else, Serges and Agile began to have a brawl right in front of him. And for some reason he could've comprehend, Violen walked into it too. Guess he felt like "everyone was doing it" or something along those lines. X rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, looked over at Alia, and then looked back at the X-Hunters, who were apparently nearing the end of their internal feud.

"Ok...got that out of your systems?" X asked.

"Don't talk down to us!" Violen shouted.

"Look, I don't know why you were told to take Alia, but I'm not going to let you. So you better get out of here. I don't want to have to fight you, but I will if you insist," X answered.

Alia had seen X fight before. She had watched records of his battles and even aided him in battle before. But still she couldn't help but think of his actions anything less than noble. She had to admit it was nice to see him act heroic instead of groveling by Zero's feet all the time. Just as Alia finished her thought, however, Agile rushed at X with all his might, his sword leaving his sheath in a split second.

X quickly grabbed Alia and rolled to the side with her. Agile's sword split the table they were standing by in two, but he then rushed after X again. Xthen grabbed Agile's head and slammed it on the ground just in time to give his attention to Violen, who was barreling down at him.

"WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE!"X shouted.

Everyone immediately froze and stared at X.

"Shouldn't we take this outside? We don't want to ruin all the furniture..."X offered.

The X-Hunters shrugged their shoulders and walked outside, with X following after. X turned back to Alia and gave her a smile.

"This'll only take a few moments. Sorry about the table though," X muttered, walking out the door.

X then back out to face the X-Hunters once again. He couldn't tell why, but he felt like they were weaker this time around. They didn't seem to be at their original strength. Which could mean a couple of things, but either way, it was fortunate for him. He wouldn't have as much trouble taking on all three of them at once then.

Agile tried to do his same attack again, but X did a roundhouse kick and knocked the tall X-Hunter back before he had the chance to pull off any sort of attack. Before Agile could even hit the ground, X quickly blasted at him, knocking Agile's body even farther back, and sending him sailing back into Serges, toppling him over. Violen tried to barrel down on top of X again, but the blue bomber dashed around behind the large foe and elbowed him in the back of the head, sending him crashing to the ground.

X then bent over, picked Violen up, and tossed him over at Agile and Serges, who were still struggling to get up at the time. The trio were looking ragged already. However, they all got back up, and this time, a large ball and chain emerged from Violen's back. He shot it forward, and at the same time, Serges shot some energy balls while Agile flung a beam from his sword. X quickly dashed to avoid the energy attacks, and then used his buster to deflect the large projectile that was coming towards him.

The spiked ball then shot back and smacked Violen straight in the chest, causing it to rip a hole through him. Agile tried another sword attack, but X managed to knock the sword out of Agile's grip. X quickly grabbed the sword before it fell to the ground and used it back to slice Agile in two before giving his attention to Serges, who he simply blasted with a shot from his X-Buster.

"Huh...that was far easier than I expected..." X muttered.

Alia then walked outside to see that X had already taken care of things. Her eyes widened to see that there was minimal damage everywhere else. The only real casualty they suffered was the table...but hey, that was a cool table.

"X, are you alright?" Alia asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. They didn't even really hit me. What about you, are you ok Alia?" X asked, looking a little worried.

"Yeah, it's ok. Thank you..." Alia answered, smiling.

"Well hey, it's my job you know. You should know that better than anyone, you've been helping me for a long time!" X replied cheerfully.

"Yeah, I guess so. I suppose I've just never become accustomed to being saved, heh..." Alia muttered, blushing a little.

X placed his hand on Alia's shoulder and smiled back at her. He enjoyed spending time with her, and she was a valuable ally, so X did admit that he would rather have her around. Her loss would be something that X would have trouble coping with.

"Well, I'm glad you're ok. Tell you what, I'll fix whatever damage is in the house, and you can go back to enjoying your coffee break, ok?" X asked.

"That's so sweet of you X," Alia replied, still smiling. "But...why doyou think the X-Hunters came back here?"

"I don't know, really. They were a lot weaker than before though. They just seem like cheap replicas. So I would assume it wasn't anything big. If it was, they would've been far more challenging. This was way too poorly thought out to be some big plot," X reasoned.

X and Alia walked back into the house, and X got to work on fixing up the table that Agile managed to slice in half. Meanwhile, Alia went back to enjoying her nice break. She did offer to help X a few times, but he declined and even offered to make her lunch as payment for the trouble that they went through. Meanwhile, a figure just outside smiled brightly.

"Hmm...things are looking up! Now I wonder how Zero and Layer are faring at the concert...?"

* * *

Well, well! It looks as though the X-Hunters weren't too much ofa challenge. But what about their employer? What is his intent? Or her intent? And what's in store for Zero and Layer? And what about Axl? What other events are X in company in for?

More will be revealed in Love Alia, Chapter 7!


	7. Contest!

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 7  
_"Contest!"_  
By MEGAMANX411

After defeating the X-Hunters, or at least three figures that resembled the old foes, X took the time to help fix up the house. He even volunteered to clean the place thoroughly, giving Alia time to relax. If that weren't enough for her, X even offered to bring her reading material, food, and anything else. When she wanted to go over some mission reports quick, X would go back and get them for her. He was always smiling and polite, which Alia never really noticed that much until now. X was always trying to be helpful like this...but it's just that certain situations made it appear as though his intentions were less than noble.

Alia was sitting down on the couch, sipping some coffee, and going over some reading material and mission reports. Although Signas said they weren't allowed to work at all, she snuck a few documents along so she could get something done if she ever had some free time. X, on the other hand, when he finished, he sat down and started to write furiously. Alia eyed him curiously.

"X, what are you writing?" she asked.

X kind of blushed when she asked that, but meekly revealed to her what he was writing. He wasn't to open with himself really, and no one had ever expressed interest in the activities he did to pass the time before. He slowly raised up a notepad with some writing on it.

"Well, it's uh...I mean, it's...it's nothing," X replied.

"You don't need to sound so embarassed X," Alia answered. "If you don't want to show me though, that's fine."

X then felt like he was shutting Alia out, so he quickly tried to redeem himself. But still, he felt like he was either going to feel bad from not showing Alia, or feel horribly embarassed. X sighed quietly, then revealed many more writing elements besides the one that he had beside him. He actually wrote quite a bit, and it was an impressive collection of works thus far.

"This...is kind of a collection. Part of it is about myself, really. I do write down the things that happen to me, and the things I think about. The other thing is I'm writing an originalnovel, but it's not even close to finished," X answered.

"You're writing a novel?" Alia asked, sounding interested.

"Well, yes, but it's really not done...and besides, it's probably not any good," X muttered.

"Well, you know what they say, everyone is their own worst critic. It may be better than you think it is. And when you finish writing it, I'd like to read it," Alia added.

X's face lit up at Alia's proposition. It was enough that she engaged him in conversation, but expressing interest in reading his novel was something he thought was really sweet of her. He smiled warmly.

"Sure, I'd like that too. But I guess I better get back to writing then if I'm going to finish anytime soon," X teased, going back to his work.

Elsewhere, Zero was at a concert. Much to his delight there, one of the guitarists who had participated at a contest there had a little accident so to speak, so Zero was able to enter a special contest being held. He didn't even know about it previously. It was basically a solo showdown, so to speak. Layer chose not to participate, but instead, she just wanted to watch Zero.

That was pretty much the norm all day for them though. Zero would be off doing whatever he wanted, and Layer would just stare at him and sigh. Her affection was painfully obvious, and she was usually blushing whenever she looked at him. Zero, of course, paid little or no attention. That was just Zero's nature. But even if he did take notice, it would probably be much more difficult for Layer to get Zero's affection back. Whenever Zero was serious, he was cold as ice. Especially because of some dark events in his past that he didn't like to dwell on.

Zero looked up on the stage to see that it was his turn to jam. A cocky grin emerged on his face as he grabbed his guitar and jumped on stage. His red armor was shining brightly due to the lighting from the stage, and everyone instantly knew who stood before him. The crowd was mostly comprised of humans, although some Reploids were present. Either way, the majority of people knew who that was on stage. Whether or not they liked him was questionable, of course. Zero was a celebrity regardless. He was a very famous Maverick Hunter.

As Zero played, Layer just watched from the crowd. She was then approached by Pallette. Pallette tapped her shoulder lightly and smiled at her.

"Hey Layer! Enjoying your day with Zero?" she asked innocently.

"Um, yes, I am, very much...thank you," Layer replied, sounding a little embarassed.

"Zero is pretty cute, isn't he?" Pallette added, smirking as she said it.

Layer couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she had the thought that Pallette was trying to set something up between Zero and herself. Pallette did give Layer some strage smiles, and this whole "day out" thing was kind of suspicious from the start. But still, Pallette was a child for the most part. She was innocent. She couldn't have knowningly set that up, it's just childish nature, she assumed.

"Aww, you're blushing Layer!" Pallette exclaimed, her face bright and full of happiness.

Layer only lowered her head from embarassment, but she still felt no ill will towards Pallette. She forced a smile, but then looked back at Zero on stage. She sighed from just looking at him, but she quickly realized that Pallette was still beside her.

"You seem to like Zero! I think that's cute though," Pallette added.

"Pallette, please..." Layer replied, sounding even more embarassed.

"Well, I guess I'll be going, I just wanted to show up to check up on you guys...have fun the rest of the day! Bye!" Pallette exclaimed, walking away and waving at the same time.

Lyaer waved back, but when she turned back around, she then noticed that Zero had finished his run on the stage. He received quite high marks too, which made his trademark grin even bigger. Zero walked off the stage and Layer went over to greet him.

"That was magnificent Zero," Layer muttered, trying to give Zero some compliments.

"Oh, thanks Layer," Zero answered.

"You played very well, I was impressed," Layer added.

"Guess I am pretty good, eh?" Zero answered, still grinning.

Layer immediately blushed and hid her face. She didn't know what else to do. She had to admit it became increasingly hard for her to hide her affection from Zero, and she did want to say something, but she didn't want to be a bother to him. Zero then looked over at her and thought something was wrong because she was looking down at the ground.

"Hey, you alright?" Zero asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Layer reeled back, and tried not to get too excited. She smiled humbly, but chose to just shake her head and signal that nothing was wrong. Her face was still red, which made things even more obvious because of her mostly blue armor.

"OK, if you're sure nothing's wrong, then that's good," Zero added, turning away.

Layer sighed again, but the redness left her face and she started following Zero again. He was already heading back to the resort, so Layer thought she may as well accompany him. She kept a pretty reasonable distance, but nothing ridiculous. At the same time, Axl was still in the movie theater. His eyes were glued to the screen, and it was already aways in. Before he knew it, Pallette sat down next to him with some popcorn and a soda. She turned to him and smiled.

"Enjoying the movie Axl?" Pallette whispered, smiling.

"Yeah, it's awesome!" Axl exclaimed.

Of course, he then immediately realized how loud he was, so he shushed himself to make sure he wasn't yelled at. Pallette whispered into his ear about something, and Axl nodded again. He then smiled smugly and turned back to her.

"Have you told Zero already?" he asked.

"No, no...I didn't get the chance to. I can tonight though," Pallette answered.

"You think that it worked...?" Axl asked.

"Yeah, well, in the first case. So that side of the bet is pretty much down already. I don't know about yours though. That looks like it'll be kind of hard. Of course, X and Alia aren't in on this though...it would make things more interesting if they were," Pallette answered.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Well, if things keep going as they are now, it looks like Zero'll be raking in some dough. If we're going to, we better get moving," Axl added.

"Yeah. When we get back to the resort tonight, we'll have to check up on our first experiment and try to see what else we can do," Pallette responded, smiling.

* * *

So, it looks like Axl, Pallette and Zero are involved in some kind of plot! But what about Layer? Does she have any idea? And what are Pallette and Axl scheming? Find out next time in Love Alia, Chapter 8! 


	8. Old Wounds

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 8  
_"Old Wounds"  
_By MEGAMANX411

As Zero walked back to the resort, his blonde hair swayed side to side, making Layer blush even more. He was completely oblivious to that, however. Layer did try to shield her face by lowering her gaze to the ground, and she did try to make sure she didn't bother Zero. He kept a pretty good distance between himself and her, though. At the same time, Pallette and Axl were heading back themselves, although neither really showed any signs of affection towards each other. And of course, X and Alia were both already at the resort. X was in the process of cooking dinner, while Alia was still working on some files she wanted to finish.

"Hey Alia, are you almost finished with those mission reports?" X asked, turning to look at the navigator.

"Yeah, I'm almost done...what about you X? Are you finished with dinner? And did you make enough for Zero, Axl, Pallette, and Layer?" Alia asked.

X looked across the kitchen to see everything he made. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over the food, and he tried to properly assess how much was necessary.

"Um...I think this should be enough. I don't think we'll have any other unexpected guests, so this should be enough," X replied.

At that moment, Zero came in the room, followed by Layer, then Axl, then finally Pallette. They all seemed to take cue from X and sat around in the kitchen area. Pallette got a little mischievous grin on her face as she surveyed all the people in the room. She then leaned over and whispered something in Layer's ear.

_"Hey Layer...why don't you just go out and tell Zero?"_ she asked, smirking.

Layer forced an embarassed smile, but tried to signal to Pallette that she'd rather not tell Zero. Axl, in the meantime, was busying himself with whatever handheld gaming device that suited his mood for the moment. Zero was surprisingly quiet as he looked outside, and his gaze was clearly aimed towards the full moon out the window. Alia, however, was by X, helping him with the kitchen needs. Pallette then leaned over and asked Layer again...and again...and again. Her questioning, although innocent, was becoming a bit annoying.

"Fine!" Layer huffed, finally becoming a little agitated.

Everyone else looked at Layer with an expression of surprise because of her sudden outburst. Layer blushed with embarassment and then slowly tried to regain her composure. She sighed softly, looked back at Pallette, and shook her head. Pallette frowned again, because she really didn't want to see her work impeded. Of course, she still hadn't taken into account how difficult it would be to overcome Layer's reserved nature. But the bigger obstacle was still unknown to both Pallette and Layer.

_"Come on Layer! Just tell him!"_ Pallette urged.

Layer was starting to have a hard time avoiding the issue now. Everyone there was starting to take notice, and Layer was having a hard time holding in what she had been wanting to say for such a long time. Suddenly, she stood up with a furious expression on her face.

"Cut it out! Fine, I love Zero! There, I said it! Now leave me alone!" Layer shouted, losing her cool.

Everyone else there stared at Layer with blank expressions, which caused the embarassed navigator to slowly take her seat. Zero just looked back at Layer with a cool gaze, as if what she said didn't concern him at all. He shook his head and then walked outside. On his way out, he only muttered one thing:

"My love is dead."

Pallette had a horrified expression on her face, because her innocent little game suddenly turned ugly. Layer was not only embarassed now, but part of her was crushed by Zero simply brushing her declaration off. X and Alia were both speechless. Axl wasn't quite as concerned as the others, but he obviously showed some signs of curiousity due to the sitatuation as well. X was really the only one who knew what Zero was talking about, and he was Zero's best friend to boot. Even though Zero had been causing him grief on this trip, X knew it was just Zero's nature...he was like that back even when X was a rookie at Maverick Hunter HQ. The fact that he acted like a joker even after the incidents involving him and Iris was remarkable, because it showed that he was getting better.

X walked outside after Zero and tried to find him. Layer on the other hand, just looked down to the ground with a hurt expression. She didn't want to cause Zero any pain, but she didn't know what exactly she did to offend him. She wasn't mad at Pallette either, but she was just frustrated with herself. By the time X reached Zero, he noticed that the red hunter was sitting on top of a hill, looking up at the moon.

"Hey Zero..." X muttered, walking over to his friend.

Zero kept deathly silent.

"Zero, listen, it's all in the past now-"

"Shut up X. I just want to be alone for awhile," Zero answered, looking away.

"That's not fair Zero. We're supposed to be friends," X replied, looking a little hurt.

"And you think what happened to me was fair?" Zero asked.

"I never said that Zero. Iris is dead, you already accepted that before," X muttered, sitting down beside Zero.

"Aceepting it doesn't make it any less painful..." Zero muttered.

"Shutting yourself off from everyone isn't going to make you feel any better," X answered.

"You're one to talk. You're the one who's always depressed. Normally I have to cheer you up. So why exactly are you acting all high and mighty now, huh?" Zero asked.

"Well...I...I guess that..." X stammered, trying to find the right words.

"Just leave me alone for awhile, please," Zero muttered, standing up.

X was becoming a little frustrated now. He was trying everything he could to cheer Zero up, yet it was becoming increasingly difficult. Zero did tend to bury his thoughts about Iris, so perhaps that's what was causing most of the pain for him. But still, for Zero to act this cold...it wasn't fair to X at all.

"The Zero I know isn't weak..." X whispered.

Now Zero was the one becoming angry. He gritted his teeth, turned around to face X, and started walking towards him. He grabbed X's shoulders and started looking at him face to face.

"What did you say?" Zero questioned, getting mad.

"I said...the Zero I know isn't as weak...as you look right now," X muttered, his voice still meek and quiet.

"You have no right to say that, X, unless you're prepared to show me that you're strong enough to call me weak," Zero answered, gritting his teeth.

"I don't want to fight you, Zero..." X muttered, lowering his head.

Zero shook his head and turned his back towards X again.

"That's the kind of answer I'd expect from you," Zero replied.

X clenched his fist, grabbed Zero's shoulder, turned him back around, and looked him back in the face.

"Just listen to me Zero! Just come back to the resort, and we'll talk things through," X offered.

Zero shrugged off X's grip, and then started to walk away. As he walked, he didn't even wave or make any gesture of showing farewell.

"I just need to be alone for awhile," Zero answered, his pace quickening with each stride until he eventually got to running.

X just stood there, speechless for awhile. He couldn't believe that his own friend wouldn't listen to him. Then again, he never really experienced the same thing Zero did, so he didn't comprehend the depth of his pain. X had just hoped that his friendship was at least worth enough for Zero to stay...but Zero leaving really cut deep into X. Soon after, Alia, Layer, and Pallette came out. They were probably too confused or frightened to say much at that point, but they both looked at X.

"X...where's Zero?" Axl asked.

X didn't say a word. He just shook his head and then lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Where did he go?" Pallette repeated.

X knew that he was probably the only one that could get Zero to come back. He and Zero have been friends for a long time. He just had to say or do the right things to get Zero back. But first he had to go look for him. Without turning around, X declared that he was leaving.

"Guys...I'm sorry about this. I'll go find Zero. Please stay here. And I apologize if you're at all hurt Layer. None of this was your fault at all. Zero just has a kind of ...dark past. That's why I have to go talk him into coming back. See you later," X announced, walking away.


	9. What Friends Are For

**Love Alia!****  
**Chapter 9  
_"What Friends Are For"_  
By MEGAMANX411

Mega Man X ran away from the resort and tried to find Zero. Meanwhile, Layer, Alia, Pallette, and Axl just stood there for a moment. They all stared at X as he ran off into the darkening sky. Suddenly, harsh rains began to fall, accentuating the dark moment. The skies turned horribly dark, and Axl started to follow X. X suddenly turned around to face his newly recruited ally.

"Axl, please, leave this to me," X pleaded.

Axl didn't say a word, but instead, just nodded in confirmation. X turned back around and kept running, until his form completely disappeared in the darkness. Slowly, Axl walked back towards Alia, Layer, and Pallette, and helped them back into the resort. They all looked back outside, almost thinking that X and Zero would wind up back there at any second. Axl stared outside with a hard gaze. Even though he had been working with both X and Zero recently, he didn't know much about them either. X and Zero were both legends among Maverick Hunters, and Axl just joined them recently. There was so much about them he didn't know.

Alia looked outside with glassy eyes. She knew that X was naturally a gentle person by heart, and that confrontation usually breaks him, especially when it comes to facing Zero. He had fought against Zero before, but confronting him was something that X never wanted to do. She knew this was trouble. Layer and Pallette both didn't know much about X or Zero's past. But still, they both felt awful. At that time, X was still running blindly into the dark of night.

He couldn't find his way around. He had trouble finding Zero...he knew normally he could just try and home in on his signal, but Zero was trying to hide himself for the moment. So X was running blind for the time being. He just had to go where he think Zero might have went. X was running for what seemed like an eternity to him. That darkness around him seemed to become more and more intimidating, like it was choking the life of everything around him.

His surroundings were irrelevant to him at that point, however. He didn't care what happened to him. Even if someone showed up demanding a fight, he wanted to get his friend back more than anything. The only thing lighting the path ahead of him were the lightning bolts hurdling through the sky and the red jewel on his helmet.

"Where on earth could he be going?" X thought aloud, looking around.

Before he knew it, X noticed that he had actually run a huge distance. As a Reploid, he could obviously run faster and farther than any human, but even this distance surprised him. He stopped for a moment and tried to look around the area. That's where he finally found Zero. But then X recognized where he was at that point: the Reploid graveyard. That was putting it nicely, however. Most others referred to it as a garbage heap.

"Zero, what are you doing?" X asked, walking towards his friend.

"Trying to find her," Zero answered, not facing his friend when he spoke.

"Zero, you're being irrational! She died in the space station Repliforce built, remember?" X replied.

Zero then turned around and gave X a hard glare. His eyes resonated not with fierce hatred, but with a frantic frenzy. It was like he was entirely consumed with his past, not able to move on.

"Yeah, I do remember. But think about it X. If she died there, her body may have fallen down to Earth…" Zero answered.

"No Zero, you know she's gone! You accepted it before, and you were fine! What caused you to think about this all of the sudden? And…" X muttered, pausing before completed his thought, "I'll fight you if I have to. If you won't come back unless I prove it to you, then I'll do just that!"

X then aimed his buster at his friend, and his eyes glowed with a fierce determination. Zero just shook his head, and began to walk towards X. He lowered his head, and his soaked blonde hair trailed behind him. At first it seemed like he wasn't even going to respond to X at all. Then he picked his head back up, and looked back at X with sorrowful eyes.

"I guess…this isn't like me, huh?" Zero asked, trying to regain his cool composure.

"No, it isn't Zero…" X answered, trying to get his friend to feel more comfortable again.

"It's just what Layer said…brought up some things I would rather forget. I realized I can't be stuck in the past, otherwise you would never leave me alone, right?" Zero teased, trying to force his typical arrogant smile.

"Yeah, besides, I'm your friend, aren't I?" X replied, now smiling with Zero.

"Yeah. Good speech, by the way. You really had me going, you know? I'm surprised X. You can be pretty damn determined when you want to be," Zero answered, walking past X.

"Now where are you headed?" X asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"Where do you think man? I'm headed back to the resort. After all, I got three ladies waitin' on me. Besides, I was having some serious fun there too, and we do have some vacation time left. And to top it all off, I think I may have won a little bet," Zero added.

"Bet? What are you talking about?" X asked, running to catch up with Zero.

"I guess you still haven't figured it out yet, huh X? You can be pretty dense sometimes," Zero joked.

"Hey, come on, tell me!" X replied.

"Tell me one thing though X. What do you think of Alia?" Zero asked.

X immediately looked away, and his face turned bright red for a couple of reasons, mostly embarrassment. He couldn't even force a feasible answer for some time.

"I-I…um…well…what I mean to say is…" X stuttered.

"You like her, I know," Zero answered, finishing X's thought. "Which is cool. I think you guys would've realized it sooner or later no matter what, I just decided to give you guys a little push, to get you closer. And I wasn't the only one."

"You mean…everyone else was in on it? Then that means…the X-Hunters…they were fakes, I knew it!" X answered.

"But if Alia was in trouble, you would've helped her no matter what, right?" Zero asked.

"I guess so," X replied, smiling.

"Then come on, let's get back. We haven't finished our vacation yet!" Zero shouted.


	10. True Feelings

**Love Alia!****  
**Chapter 10  
_"True Feelings"_  
By MEGAMANX411

Mega Man X looked at his friend Zero in awe. He never really expected this to come back up. It wasn't entirely surprisingly in reality though. After all, Zero did lose a loved one. But still, X had just gotten used to Zero being a prankster. That was kind of the way Zero handled himself. He felt much better if he played jokes and had a good time…or at least, that's what X assumed. He never really thought ill of Zero for it. Even though some claimed X couldn't take a joke that well, deep down he knew his friend meant him no harm whatsoever. He really didn't mind anyway.

Zero, on the other hand, was thinking about what he should say. He typically kept a cool and calm demeanor, but this sudden outburst of emotion really shook him up. He tried his best to look cool again, but he was having trouble doing so. He wanted to be faithful to Iris' memory, but he knew that he had to let it go if he wanted to move on. Also, he really pondered on the effects of his actions. He never really thought about the feelings of his friend, or Layer for that matter. What she just admitted took a lot of courage, and in the heat of the moment, Zero rejected her pretty harshly.

"Hey Zero?" asked X, turning to face his friend.

"Yeah, what is it X?" Zero replied, almost in a daze still.

"I was just wondering…you know, about Layer," X answered, his voice becoming increasingly quiet.

Zero lowered his eyes to the ground, and a somewhat sad look washed over his face. To be blunt, Zero had to admit that he didn't have any significant feelings for Layer. He didn't mind her company, and Zero could always count on her to be a valuable ally, so he enjoyed having her around. Still, he didn't feel that strongly about her. Would it be worse to play along and admit he loved her, even if it was false?

"Honestly…I feel pretty bad for her. I mean, she's a good person, and I value her as my ally. But I don't think I have strong feelings for her," Zero answered, trying to sort his feeling out.

X nodded in agreement. He understood what Zero was trying to say, or at least he thought he had some idea. If the person loves you, but you don't love them back, what is there to do?

"Well…I suppose maybe you should just go out and tell her, and an apology wouldn't hurt either. After all, you're a lot better with girls than I am, heh…" X joked, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Heh, X cracking a joke? When did this happen?" Zero replied, a smile coming on his face.

"Zero?" X asked.

"Yeah, what is it this time?" his friend replied.

"I was also wondering…you know, with you teasing me…was it kind of a way for you to deal with how you felt?" X asked.

Zero chuckled a bit at X's words. He never really thought that deeply about it before. To him, joking around was a way for him to relieve his feelings, and to get his mind off things. He preferred to keep his cool demeanor, and to keep a level head. So to do that, he had to keep his feelings in check. He had to find a way to balance out any negative emotions. Usually they were just ignored or discarded, but what happened to Iris really stuck with Zero despite his tendencies. He really only joked around just to feel better, he supposed.

"Well…because it's fun, I guess," Zero joked, an arrogant smirk appearing on his face.

X instantly knew what Zero meant at that moment. So he just smiled back, and then walked with his friend back to the resort. At this time, it was almost morning. The dark clouds had given way to the rising sun, and the rays of sunlight were gently cascading over the land, seemingly signifying some sort of divine renewal. The cold, dark night had given way to a warmer morning. It was kind of funny how things worked out that way; both hunters smiling, acting buddy-buddy all the way back home.

Everyone else was up all night, waiting for X and Zero to return. In fact, it was Alia who first spotted them coming back. Her eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly ran over to the others to tell them that X and Zero had returned. After getting everyone else, Alia quickly ran towards the two hunters, and hugged X tightly.

"You brought him back!" she shouted, a big smile appearing on her face as well.

"Yeah, I did. I think we got some things sorted out," X replied, turning to his friend.

"Sure did…hey Layer? I need to talk to ya for a sec," Zero shouted, motioning to her.

Layer slowly went out to face Zero. She still looked a bit sad, but she clearly was much happier now that Zero had returned. It was just Zero's time to clear up a few things.

"Well Layer…listen, I can understand how you feel. I've been in love before too. I value you strongly as an ally, and I wouldn't want to lose you. But to be honest Layer, I don't think I really do have the same feelings that you have for me. I want to apologize to you Layer. I must've really hurt your feelings, and that was not cool of me. I'm sure you'll find someone one day, but honestly, I don't think it would work out between us. I'm very sorry Layer," Zero declared, trying to comfort her as he spoke.

"Zero…I don't know if I can change how I feel. I accept your apology, and…well, I just have to accept how you feel as well," Layer replied.

Pallette then came down to face everyone. She did admit that trying to set everyone up into becoming couples was kind of a game she was playing, but she never intended for it to go this wrong. She wanted to fix things.

"Listen everyone…I was the one to kind of set this all up. I wanted to try to set up X and Alia as a couple, and Layer and Zero as a couple, because I thought it'd be fun, and I thought that's what you guys would've wanted really. After I saw how happy X and Alia were together, I thought the same would've worked for Layer and Zero…but I didn't count on past experiences. I'm really, truly sorry…" Pallette announced, lowering her head.

"Why you guys getting all sad for? We have a vacation to spend still!" Axl shouted, trying to cheer everyone up.

"Hey, he is right you know. Maybe we should go out and enjoy it some more before Signas calls us back!" X added.

"That's what I wanted to hear! Come on, I'm sure there's still tons of fun stuff we can do before it's time to head back!" Zero shouted, trying to get everyone psyched up.

The entire group was getting really excited for more vacation time, and all of their escapades they would share together. Zero got a familiar smirk on his face as he looked back at the others, and he thought of all the good times he could have with his own little pranks. X's eyes, on the other hand, were more focused on Alia at the present time, mostly because of what was said and done earlier on. He really felt better around her…and he did ponder about asking her something special later. Pallette felt really bad about what she did, but she was determined to make the best of the vacation regardless. As for Axl, Layer, and Alia….well, they had some good ideas of their own in mind. And perhaps it was their own time to have a little fun!


	11. Good Times

**Love Alia!**  
Chapter 11  
_"Good Times"_  
By MEGAMANX411

"So..." X began, trying to incite some conversation between himself and his companions, "what do we do now?"

The group had spent so much time delving into their feelings and solving their own personal problems that they now had no idea what they wanted to do now. Of course though, they didn't know how much time they had left of their vacation. Signas had never really specified any certain date for them to return, so they were all a bit worried. They weren't sure when they would be called back, and they were especially worried because they were just now able to enjoy their vacation together.

"I don't know...do you guys have any ideas?" Axl replied, scratching his head.

Most of the group had been involved in their own separate things, so they had never really done anything as a whole group. They had gone in pairs to places before, but nothing had really brought them all together. X and Alia especially spent a lot of time at the resort, usually busy with their own work. They did spend one day at the carnival, but for some reasons, it wasn't quite as enjoyable as they would've hoped it would be.

"Well, how about we all go out together? We haven't really done anything as a group yet," Alia offered.

"Yeah, but what are we gonna do?" Axl asked.

"Well...how about we each offer one suggestion, and we go from there? In that case I would suggest going to the mall," suggested Layer.

"Sure, that sounds reasonable. I guess my vote would go to seeing a movie," X answered.

"Alright, I guess I can go with this. My choice is going to a concert," declared Zero.

"I say we go to a fair!" Pallette announced.

"Well, I think we should check out some video games, so I guess I would also pick the mall," Axl offered.

"Alright then, my pick is to watch fireworks tonight," Alia stated.

"Ok, so altogether, we have a movie, the beach, the mall, a concert, a fair, and then we watch fireworks," X stated, retelling all of the events. "I guess if we want to getthrough all of this, we better get started right away!"

The first thing the group decided to do was check out the mall. The one they went to had an enormous selection of stores, so the group was fascinated to check out all of the various items. Alia and X were qutie interested in checking out the bookstore, for one. They went through a couple of them to check out a various selection of novels. However, X did takea peak at some of their mangas and such, which caused a little commotion between himself and the rest of the group. Luckily for them though, they didn't get kicked out of the store despite the noise that ensued. Following that, they checked out some other stores. Next up was a clothing store, and the group all tried on a variety of different outfits.

Zero was the one to pick out a lot of different band t-shirts, of course. X did pick up some of his own clothes too, but the clothing articles he bought were actually picked out by everyone else. They said he needed to really catch up on his sense of style. Of course he didn't understand at first, but after being forced in the dressing room by Alia, he didn't really see a need to complain. Or at least, he didn't want to. Immediately following the clothes store was an entertainment store, complete wtih movies, video games, music, and more. Zero and Layer went straight for the music section, and began listening to samples of whatever music was on display. However, Zero's need to start doing air guitar to any music started to creep out some people in the store. X browsed around the store, trying to find something that attracted his interest, all the while holding Alia's hand...of course, he didn't really notice though.

Axl remained fascinated with certain video games that were on display. His eyes were immediately glued to the screen when he saw some of his most anticipated games come on the screen. That came to be a bit of a problem when the group decided to leave the store, but thanks to Pallette quite literally pulling him from the screen, they managed to get away for a bit. Still though, Axl bought a handheld video game to keep himself busy for the time being. Afterwards, they just all stopped by a drink stand to get something before they headed off to the fair. Instead of splitting up in a group, they all decided to stick together again, and they hoped to get on the rides together. Deciding on what rides to go on was the difficult part though.

After a bit of time and arguing, they finally decided to go on one of the park's lesser roller coasters first, just to see what they were dealing with here. X, unfortunately, had to sit behind Zero and had to deal with a lot of long blonde hair in his face...so he didn't really see much else. Alia sat beside X, still holding hands of course. Zero was beside Axl, but they were too busy throwing their arms up in the air and screaming whenever the roller coaster was about to descend; they were in the front. Layer and Pallette sat in the back, mostly because Pallette was a bit scared of the ride. Still though, she got through it ok. After that, they proceeded to whatever ride came next, and kept going on through the park. Roller coasters, ferris wheels, whatever they could find. The "Giant Drop" was especially one ride the group enjoyed...that, and the satisfaction of seeing themselves get all dizzy after getting off. Normally, this would've taken all day, but thanks to the members of the group being somewhat famous, they didn't have to wait for lines. Everything went pretty smoothly.

Following right after that was a concert. The girls opted to stay back, not wanting to get sucked into the crowd. X stayed back with Alia, but Axl and Zero jumped right into the front of the crowds of people, and apparently were trying to crowd surf. X, Alia, Layer, and Pallette could clearly see Zero's blonde hair flying all over the place as he jumped around, moshed, and started riding on top of the crowd. Axl, of course, was trying to follow Zero's lead. Just when X thought he was safe though, Zero grabbed his arm and pulled him to the front, and X was then involved in the moshing. Unlike Zero though, he waasn't exactly skilled at the art of "crowd surfing" and unfortnately he was mowed over by lots of crazy fans. He got picked up by Alia when everything was over and done with though...thankfully.

The next event on their list was checking out a movie. However, they never really agreed on what one to watch beforehand. They did take some time in front of the movie theater discussing (to put it nicely) what movie would be best suited. Amidst Axl's pleas for an action movie, the group finally decided to watch a comedy. But when the group decided to pick who would get the snacks, X's inability to say "not it" quickly made him the one to get everything. After the previews were over and done with, the movie finally came on...of course, Axl had a wonderful time reiterating any of the funny pieces of dialogue that came on. Everyone did enjoy the opportunity to finally sit down after all of the events that happened earlier that day. After this though, there was only one event left...and that was just to kick back and enjoy some fireworks. There was a planned display in a park pretty close to the resot, and it would end really early in the morning.

As the group laid out on the grass, they all took some time to lay back. They all just looked at each other and smiled, thinking about how much fun the day was, and how much they were missing out before. This vacation was turning out to be something really awesome. They all laid out beside each other and began to recount the events of the day.

"I really had fun today guys, thanks!" X shouted, a big smile appearing on his face.

Alia clasped his hand tightly, looked over, and smile back at X.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good day. We all did!" she replied.

"Yeah, I had a really good time too," Zero added, stretching.

At that point, the fireworks show just started. There was a series of violent booms and a huge array of beautiful colors filling the night sky, with each detonation resulting in a different burst of light. The group remained in awe of the show, but Zero then got an idea to make the evening a little more memorable. He leaned over and whispered something in X's ear. The blue hunter was a bit apprehensive, but this time, he actually dispalyed signs of initiative.He leaned over and got a bit closer to Alia, and then whispered something in her ear.

"I thought this would help commemorate our wonderful day together," X whispered.

He then took her hand, looked into her eyes, and kissed her. This entire act obviously took Alia completely by surprise. She had no idea it was coming at all. The others looked at X in complete awe, and Zero was clapping to congratulate his friend.

"It's about time you took the initiative X!" Zero shouted, patting his friend on the back.

"Wow...X, I didn't expect that..." Alia replied, her voice really quiet.

X just smiled back at her.

"I know," he replied.

After enjoying the rest of the fireworks show, and after discussing the events that happened during the fireworks show, the group decided to head back to the resort. They were a bit fatigued from all the events of the day, but really, they all felt great. After all, their friendships were strengthened, and X and Alia managed to find a form of romance from the trip. It seemed like things would last forever, and their newfound respect for one another made them realize the true value of their friendship. They just wished that this would last forever. They all stayed up, retelling events of their pasts with one another, and they all enjoyed sharing their own funny stories. They would treasure these moments for the rest of their lives, and it seemed like it could go on for an eternity...


	12. Aw Crap!

**Love Alia!  
**Chapter 12  
_"Aw Crap!"_  
By MEGAMANX411

Morning had come pretty quickly for Mega Man X. The morning sunlight gently cascaded through the window and greeted his waking, and his face was warmed due to the presence of the beautiful light. As he slowly rose, thoughts of the previous night came flooding back into him. He remembered the events of yesterday vividly, and as such, it brought a smile to his face. However, his face did get a little red when he remembered his time at the fireworks show. However, his supposedly pleasant morning was interrupteddue to the presence of somone from his work.

"Hey X! Get up!" shouteda voice.

"Oh my God! I swear Alia, I didn't do anything!" X screamed, shielding his head.

X then realized that the voice obviously didn't belong to Alia, let alone a female. He slowly removed his hands and looked up to see Signas smiling back at him.

_Uh oh_, he thought.

Signas looked back at X, his expression not changing at all. A smile remained plastered on his face, and it looked a bit on the creepy side actually. But more importantly, X got the feeling he knew what this meant. He was going to have to go back! This was the moment that he thought would never come at the start of the trip...but as he got further into his vacation, it was a moment he began to dread. This couldn't be happening already. Not after what happened last night. X didn't know what to do, all he knew was that he had to get out of there.

"See ya!" he shouted, jumping out the nearby window.

Signas just stood there with a confused look emerging on his face. He thought X would be ecstatic to get back to work. Why X would do something as rash as jumping out the window to escape was beyond Signas. He scratched his head and looked around the room.

"Well...I guess I'll just inform the others first," he muttered, walking out the room.

Meanwhile, X was running around the back of the resort, frantically thinking of a plan. He thought maybe he could get the others and formulate some way to refuse Signas. He didn't know what to do. Part of him was saying it would be better to submit and just go back to work. The other side was saying that he should spend some more time with his friends. All of this was giving him a splitting headache, mostly because it was so sudden and nearly unreal. But before X knew it, he ran smack into Zero.

"Owwww!"

"X, what the--" Zero stammered.

"Zero, what are you--" X replied.

"You saw Signas too?" they both asked simultaneously.

"Crap."

It turned out that Zero had the same idea X did. He jumped out the window to avoid Signas as well, and then began running frantically running around the resort. Both hunters had no idea what to do. And little did they know that Axl's window was just above where they were standing.

"Look out below!" shouted the young hunter.

Unfortunately for X and Zero, they failed to hear Axl's warning. By the time they looked up, they noticed the rookie hunter falling down on them both. A flurry of anime-like expression ensued, complete with sweat-drops and swirly-eyes. After the dust cloud cleared away, the three hunters were knocked out cold in a pretzel formation. They quickly regained composure and got back up.

"Axl...you saw him too?" Zero asked.

"Yeah. I got so freaked out, I just decided to jump out the window..." Axl muttered, his voice trailing.

"Now that you mention it, maybe we should stand under one of the girl's windows to see if they have the same idea..." offered Zero.

"Hehehe..." Axl replied, rubbing his hands together.

"Aw, come on you two!" X shouted. "This is no time for thinking like that!"

"X, don't you want to be like Alia's knight in shining blue armor?" Zero teased.

X immediately blushed and turned away. He began to formulate various scenarios in his head, and started thinking about the possible consequences for his actions. On one hand, she might regard his attempt as noble...on the other hand, she might think of him as a pervert.

"Ah, I have no time for this! I'll go get Alia, you two, get the others!" X shouted, running to Alia's window.

Just as X arrived, he noticed that Alia was about to jump out the window.

_Huh...kind of funny howmy timing was exactly right...nevermind that I guess_, he thought.

"Alia!" he shouted, "jump down, I'll catch you!"

Alia then jumped out of her window, obviously to avoid Signas. X caught her and tried to have a valiant look appear on his face, but much to his dismay, he lost his balance and fell over.

"Oof...you're actually a bit heavier than I thought..." X muttered, accidentally narrating his thoughts out loud.

"What was that?" Alia shouted, giving X a hard glare.

"N-n-n-nothing!" he replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"So, how did you know that I would jump out the window?" Alia asked, changing the subject.

"It was a hunch. You saw Signas too, didn't you?" X asked.

"Yeah, I did. Scared me nearly to death," she replied.

"Well, Zero and Axl are getting the others. Not sure what we'll do after that," X answered.

"I can't believe he's already back here to get us..." Alia replied.

X knew exactly how Alia was feeling. Now that he had finally accepted the idea of taking a vacation, he had to go back...that was really uncalled for. The very description of irony was running through his mind. At the very least, he thought that Signas could've given him some form of warning. He didn't know how long he could evade his superior officer, however. At that time, Zero, Axl, Pallette, and Layer showed up all looking a bit distressed.

"Hey X. We have everyone here...what now?" Axl asked.

"Um...well, let's head for the train station. Maybe we can lose him there," X offered.

"But where do we go from there?" Layer asked.

"I don't know, but we better get going if we want to avoid him," X replied.

The entire group started dashing towards the local train station, going as fast as they possibly could.Soon enough, the group reached the train station, and they all boarded the nearest train. Apparently, it was bound for the city of Tokyo (assuming that Tokyo still exists in that time, and that it is close to the place where Maverick Hunter HQ is located).

"Whew...finally..." Pallette huffed, looking out the window.

All of the sudden, a voice came over the loudspeaker. A voice that filled the 6 reploids with dread.

"Well, I thought you might try to escape. If you don't want to come back, then that must mean you've been having a good trip. And if you have had a good trip, that must mean you've relaxed a little...which in turn means you can go back to work. Don't worry, we're on our way back to Maverick Hunter HQ right now," Signas announced.

"Aw crap!" X shouted.

"I'm gonna kill him. I swear I'm gonna kill him!" Zero screamed, running for the door.

Pallette, Axl, and Layer then barred Zero's way and tried to hold him back.

"Zero, calm down," Alia began, "we need to think of a way out of this..."

"I think I have a plan. I've never used a vacation day once in my life..." X replied.

"So? What good does that do us?" Axl asked.

"Well...I have roughly 100+ days of vacation time still. I'll try and allow Signas to divide that time amongst us so we can continue our vacation!" X shouted, his eyes gleaming with the light of victory.

"Excellent idea X!" Alia shouted, smiling brightly.

X took a deep breath, looked to his friends for support, and walked towards the front of the train where Signas was supposedly at. He ran his plan through his mind over and over, trying to get it straight. As soon as he reached Signas, he saw his boss sitting down in one of those swivel chairs.

"So...you've come," Signas began.

"Yes. I wanted to make a deal with you," X answered.

"I know. I already know what it's about. Your precious vacation time..." Signas answered.

X's face grew pale. He didn't care for Signas' tone, and he was a bit worried that his plan would be shot down. He needed a trump card, something to make things go his way. That's whenhe rememberedhis contract! X's face instantly lit up, and his eyes beamed with pride. He knew that with this, he would be able to continue things the way they were going...for at least a little while longer.

"OK Signas. Take a look at this," X replied, pulling out a piece of paper.

"What is that?" Signas asked.

"This is my contract. In it, it is stated that you must honor my own vacation days. You assumed that I was so uptight I'd never use them, but not this time!" X shouted, sticking out his tongue.

Signas' face faulted.

"Crap."

And thus, X had won. Victory was his. He, Alia, Zero, Axl, Layer, and Pallette could continue their vacation for a bit longer. They would have some more time together. Not only that, they all felt a little changed from their experiences. X, especially. He felt a bit more impulsive now, and he felt more attuned to his emotions than before. He truly valued his friends before, but now, he had a newfound appreciation of them due to seeing them in a new light. Zero had also dealt with some of his own emotions, mostly regarding his past. Alia had also battled her own feelings, and finally admitted that she did feel something for X. Layer finally admitted her own feelings, Pallette admitted her wrongs, and Axl...well, he had fun. That was the important part.

So...they would continue to have fun just a little while longer. And they'd probably carry some of this fun back over to their work once it was finally time to go back home. Signas had achieved his goal. His staff was no longer too uptight. They all realized the true value of spending some quality time together. They still knew they'd be needed back at Maverick Hunter HQ eventually, obviously, so they kept up a watch of any important events toknow when they needed to return. They'd just have fun in the meantime.

The End.

* * *

Well...that's it. I'm not sure if this ending is the very best way to end it, but I just felt it was right. For this fanfic, I kind of wanted to give a Love Hina feel to some aspects of Mega Man X, but still integrate other elements to it. Some parts were more serious, others were funny...anyway, I sincerely hope you guys liked it. I really appreciate all of the reviews that you guys have written into me thus far, you've helped me to write more. Perhaps I will write a story similar to this one day, or something like it. Thank you all again! 


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